"A Lovely Neighborhood With Affordable Housing"

Yorkville is really a sub-section of the Upper East Side. Yorkville is bounded by the East River on the east, Third Avenue to the west and extends from 86th Street to 96th Street, where Spanish Harlem begins. The southern boundry has been the subject of debate with some claiming it extends to 72nd but I have always considered the neighborhood to contained with the east 80s and east 90s.

Yorkville was once filled with German immigrants but this demographic has been diluted by the many yuppies who began to move into the area in the 1980s. Because the neighborhood is part of the larger Upper east Side it also offers the same dining and shopping opportunities.

An attractive feature of this area is that apartment sales and rentals are more affordable than is the case with other parts of the city (and even other parts of the Upper East Side.) Yorkville contains many older, walk up buildings and if you can deal with the climb you can find some good deals. Because of the relatively lower rents, there are more young people here than in the ore expensive part of the Upper East Side, many attending such area colleges as Hunter College, Marymount College, or even City College or Columbia.

Yorkville is also where you will find Gracie Mansion on East 88th Street and Carl Shurz Park, a nearly 15 acre park running along the East River. This is a really nice spot for a stroll or to sit on a bench along the promenade and watch the yachts from Long island sail by. If you have a pooch, there are also two dog runs, one for larger size dogs and the other for smaller. During the warm weather you will also see many nannies gathered with their charges on one of the grassy areas. One of my favorite places to sit and read is on the hill behind Gracie Mansion. It is bit off the beaten path with regard to the rest of the park and offers a nice view of the water. You can take a long walk along the promenade which starts on 79th Street and extends all the way up to the Triboro Bridge in East Harlem.

Yorkville is a quiet area with not much in the way of nightlife. This makes it a good choice for those who prefer a relativley tranquil neighborhood in which to live and a good choice for families since it is in close proximity to some of the best schools in Manhattan.

As with the remainder of the Upper East Side transportation is pretty much limited to the 4,5, or 6 train on Lexington Avenue. You can also catch the M15 bus running along Second Avenue downtown or the M101, M102, or M103 running downtown along Lexington Avenue.

"Yorkville – A ‘Plain Vanilla’ Neighborhood with Great Buys"

Yorkville is a lovely ‘upper’ Upper East Side neighborhood in Manhattan that runs north/south from East 79th Street to East 96th Street and east/west from Third Avenue to the East River, and includes the glorious Carl Schurz Park. In the 18th Century and for hundreds of years, it was a blue-collar community where most residents were German or Irish immigrants. Today, only a hint of Yorkville’s past identity remains, peeking out from tiny pockets of Old World culture such as specialty meat stores, neighborhood pubs, and Austro-Hungarian restaurants. Side streets are narrow and very residential in their feel, while the north-south avenues are dense with businesses.

The Yorkville of the 21st Century is far more diverse and upscale than it was two hundred years ago, but no less lovely. It lacks the cachet of its downtown neighbor, the Upper East Side (which ends at 79th Street), but that makes living in Yorkville more affordable. One-bedroom co-ops in pre-war buildings to the west of York Avenue range can be had for as low as $200,000 up to about $500,000. And condo prices are even better: units in brand new luxury buildings start at about $160,000 and go up to $300,000. These apartments are made for modern life, with excellent plumbing, up-to-date wiring, and conveniences related to Internet access and cable TV.

Like all East Side neighborhoods in Manhattan, Yorkville is close to only one subway line along Lexington Avenue. A new subway line along 2nd Avenue is under construction and that should help alleviate some of the crowding at rush hour. Buses run north and south on all avenues except Park and you can grab a cross town bus at 79th, 86th and 96th Streets. The area is served by taxis, but during prime times such as rush hour and weekend evenings, they are hard to come by.

Its proximity to the River and distance from the subway makes Yorkville remote, but also affordable. Currently, a one-bedroom rental on York Avenue is about $2,100, and a two-bedroom about $2,900. But it’s the large apartments that are a real steal in Yorkville: the median price for a 4-bedroom apartment in an older building is just $3,400. This makes Yorkville a perfect area for families of modest incomes. And if you’re looking to buy, you’re in for a shock. Studios are selling for over a million dollars, but the median sale price for one-bedrooms is just $420,000.

Gracie Mansion, the residence of NYC’s mayor, is located on East End Avenue at 88th Street. This provides a tremendous boost to Yorkville’s security and the area is notably safe.

Pros

Cheaper than the UES proper

Quiet and peaceful neighborhood

Great family environment

Cons

Far from public transportation

No real nightlife scene

The neighborbood is served by several bus routes but the closest subway is a block away on Lexington Avenue

"Yorkville: Pretty With Lots to Do"

Yorkville runs from 72nd Street to 96th Street along the East Side. It's lovely to go up this way and just stroll around. There are lots of doctors offices up here, but a lot of professionals also live here. The apartments are generally large and because the more easterly ones mean more of a walking distance to the train, you can often find good bargains the more east you go.

The buildings here have character though and some areas are spellbinding. There are trees scattered about, a rarity in some parts of the city. Lovely little enclaves of shops can be found. I always recommend however walking the avenues since this is where most of the foot traffic is, and hence, most of the good shops. You just can't go wrong. The well-to-do live here but so do hardworking middle class people who have scraped and saved to live here.

There are lovely buildings with doormen and elevators but many people who live more easterly live in pre-war walkups. These apartments may have more space but they also may require walking up 4 or more sets of stairs! If you have a good heart and don't mind sweating then this may be the place for you to find a place to live.

"A Rare Nice and Affordable Place To Live"

The funny thing about New York City is that you will often be paying for access rather than an apartment. Many places in the city will offer you a closet sized studio with a shared bathroom for the same price as a nice loft somewhere else. In the case of Yorkville, you can find a nice affordable place so long as you are willing to give up access. Access to public transportation, access to nearby locations, and access to the rest of Manhattan.

Living here isn't bad. It's a nice area with a generally young professional crowd that has to commute on the train to work daily. Only the 4 and the 6 go anywhere up here and they are often packed (but run fairly often). The rents are good but there are also a lot of new much more expensive apartments. The schools are good, the area is quiet, and hopefully you aren't right next to the highway. What you gain in money in your pocket and peace and quiet you lose in proximity to everything that is going on in Manhattan and a lot of public transportation options. There is not a whole lot to do except some food joints and some bars.

Not much to do here for tourists, just your run-of-the-mill residential neighborhood but it is quite lovely.

"Nice part of the Upper East Side"

Yorkville is a neighborhood within the Upper East Side. While I've never lived there, I feel as though I have because I used to sit a friend's dog in this neighborhood, staying at their apartment for extended periods. I'm not entirely sure of the boundaries of this neighborhood, and I doubt they're official. I consider it to run from Third Avenue to the East River from 86th Street to 96th Street. Some people say it runs as far south as 72nd Street, though.

While I'm not that fond of most of the Upper East Side (having lived for 13 years considerably farther south than Yorkville on the UES), I like this area. 86th Street is a main shopping stretch, and there are some great groceries and shops around here. I love Carl Schurz Park on the river. There's a terrific running and biking path, and the mayor's home, Gracie Mansion, is in this park. So, I always felt safe there, even if I walked the dog after dark because there are cops outside the mansion at all times. It's a very pretty area, and there are lots of people walking their dogs. Most people are fairly friendly, too. It's a real neighborhood within the "Yupper" East Side.

It isn't youthful or trendy, though. It's definitely a little bit on the stuffy side, but I found it pretty comfortable and felt safe there. Rents are definitely high but not the absolute highest in the city. There are many very nice buildings with doormen, and you might be able to find a deal if you look hard enough.

"The “Every Man”’s Upper East Side."

If you spend your time strolling through Central Park, Museum Mile and the shops of Madison Avenue dreaming of a lifetime where you’d be able to live near all of this (and still afford to do things like eat and have electricity), then you’ll be happy to discover Yorkville. A hop, skip and jump away from the Gossip Girls and Ladies Who Lunch, Yorkville only asks that you go a little further east in exchange for affordable apartments, laid-back pubs and an all-around easygoing attitude.

In fact, if you’re suburban at heart but want to be in Manhattan, Yorkville strikes the perfect balance between the two: boasting the nearby pulse of Manhattan’s culture next to Average Joe sports bars, families pushing strollers and walking dogs and all of those chain stores you’re used to seeing in the mall wherever you’re from. Take in stunning views of the East River while your pup plays nicely with others at Carl Schulz Park, get your errands done on 86th Street between First and Lexington Avenues at places like P.C. Richards, Barnes & Noble and Victoria’s Secret and make out-of-town friends feel at home with appetizers at Pizzeria Uno. When you’re ready to spread your city wings, leave all the suburban hubs behind by sampling the craft beer menu at David Copperfield’s, digging into spicy fish tacos at Cascabel Taqueria while taking in its Lucha Libre theme, being whisked away to Germany at the authentic, passed-through-the-generations restaurants and sifting through hidden treasures at thrift stores on Third Avenue. When you’re ready for a day of taking in Manhattan’s splendor, make the walk from Yorkville to Madison and Fifth Avenues, where gems like Central Park and the Guggenheim await you. It’s the best of all worlds: affordable living, the comforts of home, the quirks of only Manhattan, and culture at your fingertips.

"Great Place to Start"

Yorkville is a safe and simple place to live, probably most ideal for recent graduates. Moving to the city can be bit overwhelming at first, but starting in a neighborhood like Yorkville gives you a safe base to go back to as you slowly find your way around the city. The restaurants and stores aren't standouts, but you don't have to travel far to have a nice evening out. The architecture is distinctive and elegant, stoney reminders that Yorkville was the IT place to live in the late 18th Century.

However, nice as it is, it can get old after awhile. It's far away from nearly everything and people often don't want to visit you, as it's hard to get to. At first this won't bother you, but it will. The charm fades as you learn more about the city and other neighborhoods, but this is still a great place to start out.

If you're young, can get a good deal, and don't mind a long commute (and a long walk to the subway) then you might have a good time in Yorkville. Families can also probably carve out a nice home up there, but in general this is a place to introduce you to a city. If your world is set in Yorkville, you'll miss out on a lot of what the city has to offer, so you'll eventually want to graduate to something else.

Not a bad place to spend a year though while you find out if the city is right for you.

"Surprisingly affordable in safe neighborhood"

Yorkville both is and is not part of the Upper East Side. While it has the same safe sidewalks and mostly quiet evening, Yorkville has a younger feel than the rest of the Upper East Side.

I don’t mean younger like the architecture is younger. Really many of the buildings lack the clean polished found in nearby areas. Some of the buildings look weirdly European, like you suddenly stumbled into Bavaria. But for the most part, it’s a well-maintained, normal-looking Manhattan neighborhood. What I mean by younger is that many of the residents are younger. Many are students from Hunter or Columbia or even Julliard or AMDA across the park. Rents are lower here than in the rest of the UES, but still pricey for the amount of space you get.

But with the younger people come more bars and a few clubs and pizza places that are open all night. It’s definitely a more relaxed feel. And there are way fewer children than you’ll see toddling around than if you were to go a little farther west.

Yorkville has mostly lost all its ethnic edge. Little remnants of the German occupation remain, but they are few and far between. It’s mostly residential and mostly quiet. There are long, odd blocks containing residences with no retail locations on street level. It’s very strange for New York and can seem almost desolate at night. But, it’s a reasonably affordable neighborhood with nice residents and definitely worth looking into.

"Yorkville!! Or as I call it, Little Europe"

Yorkville is a beautiful city that mimics scenery and architecture from countries all over Europe. Having traveled there a few times I like to call Yorkville, Little Europe.

Although Yorkville is mostly residential it does offer some amazing attractions such as restaurants and bars that have been standing for many decades. German bakeries and delicacies are numerous around this part of New York.

It is definitely a place to visit if you want to connect with your German (or European) ancestry. If you want to get away from the large and fast paced crowds that fill other parts of New York City, you will enjoy Yorkville for what it is, a large community with a small town feel.

"Hark back to the ages past"

The enclave of Yorkville is located within the Manhattan larger neighborhood of the Upper East Side. Yorkville has long been associated with New York City’s Eastern European populations as the area was settled as a village in the late 19th and 20th centuries by the city’s Albanian, Czech, German, Hungarian, Irish, Polish, and Slovak immigrant populations. Many of the descendants of these populations continue to reside in Yorkville until today though the boundaries of this neighborhood are loosely defined to extend from the East River to Third Avenue, from 72nd to 96th street. To cater to the needs of its ethnic population, Yorkville was once populated with several Hungarian, Czech and German business of which only few remain namely the Hungarian Meat Market which is located on the corner of 80th Street and Second Avenue, and which continues to sell Eastern European delicacies like smoked meats, canned and jarred fish, pickles, cold cuts and wursts , Andres café which is also located on Second Avenue between 84th and 85th street and offers its patrons a wide array of Hungarian pastries, strudels and palacsintas and the Heidelberg Restaurant which is a faux German Beer Garden located on second avenue between 85th and 86th street.
Yorkville which enjoys the reputation of being a relatively affordable section of the Upper East Side has in recent times also become home to some of the most uber-expensive luxury condominium buildings in New York City like the Georgica , the Brompton and the Lucida which now tower over the area’s original low rise walk-ups and townhouses

Pros

The neighborhood also hosts some good public and parochial schools like P.S. 290 and St Stephens of Hungary school

Tree lined streets

Quiet and peaceful neighborhood

Cheaper than the UES proper

Great family environment

Near some of the city's best private schools

Cons

Nightlife scene is dominated by raucous frat bars

The neighborbood is served by several bus routes but the closest subway is a block away on Lexington Avenue

Prices in the new luxury buildings are some of the highest in the city

"A surprisingly low-key enclave on the high-maintenance Upper East Side"

While much of the Upper East Side is decidedly aristocratic in character - grand, tree-lined boulevards, white-gloved doormen at each apartment entrance, great fashion houses lining Madison Avenue - Yorkville is a welcome relief from the sometimes snobbish grandeur of other regions of the UES. A mostly residential district with a heritage of middle-class German immigrants, Yorkville today is a calm and relatively inexpensive district, with some of the best big-chain shopping on the UES (think Strawberry Jam, H&M, Barnes and Noble, and Best Buy rather than Fendi or Hermes) and a good amount of low-key ethnic eateries. Plus, the closer you get to the river, the nicer the views; Carl Schurz Park, a riverside enclave with playground and dog walk, is a perfect community gathering point.

The main shopping drag runs along 86th Street, starting at Lexington Avenue and trailing off around 2nd. The area can be a bit unpleasantly crowded, especially around the 86th Street 4/5/6-train subway stop, but it's safe and convenient; even the Park Avenue matrons do their less high-end shopping here. The flagship Tasti-D-Lite store (New York's low-calorie ice cream substitute; a venerable institution) is here, and other good eateries include greasy-spoon diner The Mansion on 86th and York (also popular with students from nearby girls' school Chapin) and the nearby Ethiopian Restaurant (that's really its name!) Also check out the Vinegar Factory for delicious organic and farmers' market produce, and the Asphalt Green Sports Complex for some swimming, running, or other activity.

"The best piano bar in the country!"

Yorkville is located in Upper East Side Manhattan and is most prominently known at the neighborhood of Gracie Mansion. Gracie Mansion is the official home of the New York City mayor.

There are few hip clubs in Yorkville, but the coolest piano bar I have ever been to is located on 84th Street. The next in line is at the New York New York in Las Vegas, Nevada – imagine that. The bar host’s one of New York City’s largest St. Patrick Day parties, taking place after the parade and going to the breaking hours of dawn.

There is a college student presence along 81st Street due to Fordham Graduate School. The college itself is located on the West Side, but for safety reasons the university bought buildings along 81st to accommodate their grad students. This is a very affordable community for students, in part because Yorkville is so isolated from the subway. You will find most young married couples and singles living along 1st Avenue and East End Avenue.

"Exactly the quality you'd expect from the Upper East"

This is one of those Manhattan neighborhoods that seems to be slowly melting into its surroundings – a phenomenon that is not unusual in New York. The neighborhood is full of shiny new apartment buildings that were never tenements and so won’t make you feel claustrophobic, and Yorkville is generally peopled with the non-artist young professionals who can afford such places, though there is a bit of a mixed population. Yorkville is historically a German neighborhood, but all of that real estate development put its identity in the mud. However, if you are looking for a quiet stoop to smoke your cigarettes on, or just a nice quiet, tree-lined street, this is a good place to start.

"Yorkville - affordable upper east side living"

Yorkville is a more down to Earth section of the fabulous Upper East Side. Home to Gracie Mansion, the residence of current New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, Yorkville is a popular place for young professionals as well as families. The youthful nature of this section of the Upper East Side has much to do with the various colleges and universities with housing and buildings throughout the neighborhood, including the City College of New York’s Hunter Campus, as well as buildings annexed by Fordham University, its main campus located in the Bronx. Other institutions include the New York Film Academy and Berkeley College. Yorkville is in great proximity to a fabulous section of Central Park, and is filled with many high rise exclusive apartment buildings, as well as some co-operative housing options, not to mention some streets lined with beautiful brownstones. Though this neighborhood is more affordable than other sections of the Upper East Side, renting a small, sometimes called “shoe box” apartment in Yorkville is pricey, many units starting at $1500 or more. Shopping and Entertainment in Yorkville proper isn’t as diverse as in the other neighborhoods, but with its close proximity to the greater Upper East Side and the rest of Manhattan and New York City. Though constantly developing, Yorkville maintains a classic essence of New York City, filled with both charm and elegance all its own. One aspect of Yorkville is that it strips away the snobbery of the Upper East Side to reveal a more lax environment, while still being accessible, well-connected, diverse, and current.